It was always my dream to come to Auburn University. My father's first words to me when I was born were "War Eagle." Since the very beginning of my life, I have always believed in Auburn and loved it.
My story is not too different than many other students at Auburn. A lot of us in the Auburn family have been a part of this community since we were born. Our mothers and fathers, and their mothers and their fathers before them, were a part of this community, and we are all honored to continue on that tradition and be an Auburn Tiger.
But every year, our beloved University prices more and more students out of their dream. The recently raised price of a parking permit--from $30 to $160 for the major C Zone lots--is an excellent example of the administration at Auburn disregarding their students' needs as soon as they send in the tuition check.
In the grand scheme of things, a 300 percent increase in parking fees is not a cause for an uproar. But looking at parking as a whole as an expression of how this administration treats their students, a 300 percent increase in parking fees is unbearable. Many students commute to campus, but there is less C Zone parking and more enforcement of long-since forgotten rules and regulations.
Let's not forget that every autumn, parking on campus on a Friday becomes a virtual impossibility as C Zone after C Zone is shut down for the upcoming football game. I understand our football team brings in millions of dollars and I'm as proud of their accomplishments. But we are a University with a football team, not a football team with a University.
No amount of fancy new waterfalls or re-bricked business buildings will make up for the basic commodities that mean students can come to campus to learn. Parking fees are an inconvenience, and if the administration, the Board, and the SGA are looking to price students out of driving to campus, they might have accomplished just that. But what is more than an inconvenience is the continuing rising cost of even attending Auburn.
Tuition rates rise ever year without fail. Instead of passing a resolution approving increases in parking fees, the SGA should pass a resolution demanding tuition rates be made affordable to every student accepted to Auburn University.
Auburn systematically denies students of all socio-economic classes--especially out-of-state students--the opportunity to become part of the Auburn family. I was under the impression that the state of Alabama, the administration, the Board of Trustees and especially the Student Government were supposed to keep my best interests in mind.
It turns out every one of them are a disappointment.
Alexander Roberson
junior, political science
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